Monday, November 5, 2012

Holiday Happenings!

Mandeville Canyon Designs and Whirlygigs gearing up for another fabulous tree!

I can't believe the fall has flown by and we are already thinking about the Festival of Trees! Many thanks to those of you who had the chance to tour Tablescapes this past weekend in Portsmouth.Tablescapes is wonderful event featuring some of the top designers from the Northeast each designing their own interpretation of the ultimate table setting. All proceeds from the weekend event and gala preview party go to aid Arts In Reach offering afters school and enrichment programs for girls 13-18 in the fields of visual and performing arts. My table was entitled: Table of Contents and featured a whimsical interpretation of a dining table with a dream team dinner guest list~ Edgar Allen Poe, J.K. Rowling, Lewis Carroll, and our own Dan Brown. The table was made entirely of books that had been upcycled and stacked together (which in itself was a feat in physics!). I gathered items to represent the authors from all over the United States, including commissioning an original oil and acrylic on books entitled, "Into the Sea~ Edgar Allen Poe" by the talented L.A. artist Mike Stilkey. The subtitle of the piece was, "Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover" and it required viewers to look beyond the initial chaos of the piece to find calm. I so enjoyed watching guests linger and return to for subsequent viewings to bring about a deeper understanding.The piece was a success as it took home the People's Choice award and is hopefully headed for a little tour of it's own starting with the Children's Museum in Dover. We hope it will make a stop in a few local libraries and then is slated for an art gallery in Portsmouth in the fall.

So, now that Mr. Poe and his not so contemporaries have been tucked in for the night it's time to move on to the Festival of Trees.For eight years now, I have had the pleasure of teaming up with Whirlygigs to design some of the most out of the box trees the festival has to offer. We have created pirate trees (complete with a floating Tinker Bell who dropped down to sprinkle fairy dust upon the tree), circus trees with a spinning dumbo, to Beany Babies, Fuzzles, and three very "ugly" trees as a home for Ugly Dolls.Last year we even featured a retro 60's tree with a giant bubbler in the center!This year promises to be just as wonderful as we go traditional, with a twist, of course.

This wonderful event to benefit the Children's Chamber Fund will take place on November 29th from 11- 8pm.I am very excited to also announce my new locationat 99 Water Street in downtown Exeter. My new studio is on the second floor and has a wonderful view of the bandstand. I will be hosting an open house on the evening of the Festival of Trees from 4:30-7. Please pop in to say hello and get a first hand tour of the space. I will be featuring some great holiday items such as the felt animal menagerie (which just expanded to include our buck) and the Recycled Rascals made of post consumer newspaper overruns. Proceeds from the sales that evening will go to the Children's Chamber Fund.

I do hope to catch up with each and every one of you this holiday season!Warm wishes,Renee